Ok, here's a slightly revised version of something I just sent to
Macintouch.com regarding this .Mac business:
I have been reading the posts regarding .Mac with must interest, and I
feel I must chime in.
(Full disclosure: I work at an Apple retail store, but my remarks should
not construed in any way, shape or form as being an official Apple
position, statement, etc, yadda yadda yadda... And for those of you who
think I'm a paid Apple apologist, please keep in mind that I work for
Apple because I like Macs, not the other way around.)
Ok, so people are getting all exercised because Apple wants to charge
them something like $8 a month for several useful web-based tools.
That's about what people pay each month for call waiting on their
telephone, for crying out loud. Get some perspective, folks. We're
talking like 30 cents a day. For the cost of one bottle from a soda
vending machine a day, you can finance three .Mac accounts. Don't tell
me you're too poor to afford that.
Interesting how if Apple charges money for something really cool they're
shoving it down your throat like it's something nasty, but if they give
it away for free, you can't wait to get some of it. If Jaguar were free,
everybody who's currently whining about how they don't need/want its new
features would be trying them out, discovering how useful they are, and
using them every day. Maybe Apple should charge for iMovie, iPhoto and
iTunes? "Please charge me less, Apple. I want fewer abilities, less
features, less innovation. Who needs that stuff? It's more important
that it be free, or at the very least, cheap." Sounds like the song of a
PC user to me. I'm sure there's a Gateway box somewhere with your name
on it. Go for it.
If you see no value in the added services Apple is offering, you don't
have to buy a .Mac account. If you just want a mac.com email address to
proclaim your alliance with others of a Macintosh bent, I understand
that completely. I agree that it would be nice if Apple would offer an
email-only account for free or dead cheap. However, all these cries of
"bait and switch!" are completely unwarranted. Read your iTools EULA. It
says clearly they don't have to give it to you for free in perpetuity.
Ok, back to our beloved green machine...
-Steve
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